Early in Imago, Jodahs tries explaining to the male and female he meets that eventually humanity will destroy each other again. As Jodahs reflects on his own role in this inevitable demise, he questions, “What were we doing, we who knew the truth? Helping him reach the cliff. Ferrying him to it.” The word “ferrying” stands out as odd, particularly because the initial analogy Jodahs used was of walking off a cliff. While “ferrying” can generally mean “to convey (as by aircraft or motor vehicle) from one place to another” , I would argue its more popular and common use is connected specifically to transporting items over water. Because of this, I wonder if Butler intentionally uses the word “ferrying” to evoke connotations of Charon and the
